​Que Sera, Sara

PHILIPPINES - In Brief 13 Oct 2021 by Romeo Bernardo

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What we know at this time:The period for filing of certificates of candidacy (COC) closed last Friday and six publicly recognizable figures are running for the presidency. In alphabetical order: Manila Mayor Francisco Domagoso, Senator Ronald dela Rosa, Senator Panfilo Lacson, former Senator Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., Senator Manny Pacquiao, and Vice President Leni Robredo. November 15 is the deadline for substitution of party nominated candidatesTABLE 1.The CandidatesThe chatter on the groundIt is widely believed that Senator dela Rosa, who is running under the ruling party PDP-Laban, is merely a placeholder for presidential daughter, Davao Mayor Sara Duterte. The president of the party, Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi reportedly admitted to nominating Senator dela Rosa because he is “the one who is available.”[1] The Senator himself said that the Davao mayor would be a better candidate.[2]Aside from PDP-Laban, the party of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (CMD), also admitted to having a member filed a COC for the president in hopes that the Davao mayor will change her mind and run for president.[3]Senator Marcos is another wild card. Privately-commissioned surveys show that: (a) he is a serious contender on his own; (b) if the Davao mayor enters the race, they would take votes away from each other; and (c) together, the two make for a strong President/VP tandem, one bringing his/her north/south support to the other. There were earlier talks of them running together which is still possible by substitution. Vice President Robredo is the clear opposition candidate. Her decision to run as an Independent rather than under the Liber...